this post was submitted on 10 Jul 2024
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Wholesome Greentext

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(A 4Chan "green-text", titled "Altruism", with a close-up photograph of a turtle on the pavement)

Riding bike through town

See something strange on the side of the road

Decide to stop and investigate

It's a turtle tucked into its shell

Hold finger in front of shell

Turtle pokes its head out, sniffs finger, and then retreats back into it's shell

It's a hot day, and there are no bodies of water nearby

There's a river a few miles away, decide to take the turtle there

Ride bike with one hand while holding the turtle

People look at me strangely

Don't care, the turtle is all that matters

Turtle pokes its head out when going fast downhill

Probably the fastest the turtle has ever gone

Finally reach the river

Set the turtle on the shore under some shade

After about 10 seconds the turtle crawls into the water

Looks back at me before submerging and swimming away

Feel more emotion in that moment than I have in the last few years

Despite my mistakes and shortcomings, a creature's life was made better by my existence

Is using our time to help others the real answer?

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[–] Bougie_Birdie@lemmy.blahaj.zone 88 points 4 months ago (2 children)

I thought this was going to end like the time someone threw the tortoise into a lake

[–] ThePyroPython@lemmy.world 61 points 4 months ago (2 children)

Short answer: yes.

We're social creatures and our lizard brain has been programmed by natural selection to help others and be good stewards to our environment. Those feelings come from a dopamine rush as a biological reward for practicing behaviours that have lead to survival and prosperity.

[–] oce@jlai.lu 26 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

The triune brain is an obsolete theory.
Natural selection also selected self-preservation, fear of the unknown and a plethora of other biases that lead to all kinds of anti-social behavior, there's not much foundation for ethics to be found in natural selection.

[–] ThePyroPython@lemmy.world 13 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Damn science harshing my wholesome vibes.

Seriously though, that's an interesting point I'll have to look into that.

[–] samus12345@lemmy.world 7 points 4 months ago

If anything, it's more wholesome for ethics to not merely be tied to natural selection.

[–] voracitude@lemmy.world 44 points 4 months ago (1 children)

It's not too likely that any one of us will change the world, but every one of us can change someone's world. Even if that someone is a turtle.

[–] activ8r@sh.itjust.works 16 points 4 months ago

Alternatively:
Everyone will change the world whether they like it or not. It's usually in small ways and it's not always good, but you will have an impact and you are important.
Everything you do makes a difference, even if it's unclear how.

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 21 points 4 months ago (2 children)

You're in a desert, walking along when you look down and see a tortoise. It's crawling toward you. You reach down and flip it over on its back, its belly baking in the hot sun, beating its legs trying to turn itself over. But it can't. Not with out your help. But you're not helping. Why is that?

[–] MindTraveller@lemmy.ca 4 points 4 months ago

That turtle fucked my wife

[–] SreudianFlip@sh.itjust.works 17 points 4 months ago

I enjoy alien abduction stories too.

[–] midnight_puker@sh.itjust.works 17 points 4 months ago

It makes me happy to think that for all my fuckups, I may have still helped improve somebodys life in some small way.

[–] Kyrgizion@lemmy.world 12 points 4 months ago

I have no illusions about me being a "good" person, but I never leave any creature in need to suffer if I can help it, and that includes everything, even insects. This has resulted in us adopting quite a few "rescue" animals and to be honest, the love and loyalty you get from them is on a completely other level still. They KNOW.

[–] hotsox@lemmy.blahaj.zone 11 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Not to be that person, but you should not move turtles, it will literally kill them. They live in the same 1-2 mile radius all their life.

[–] IzzyJ@lemmy.world 14 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Im sure it absolutely can, but why would it be a problem if theyre in the same biome. Also this is a kid on a bike, they probably didnt travel a mile

[–] Alcatorda@lemmy.world 6 points 4 months ago (1 children)

It says in the post it was a few miles away.

[–] IzzyJ@lemmy.world 1 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Fair point. I still am curious about the biome part of the quesrion

[–] figjam@midwest.social 1 points 4 months ago

The get lost and then they cry. Ultimately they end up dying due to dehydration. Tragic.

[–] tigeruppercut@lemmy.zip 10 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Probably the fastest the turtle has ever gone

Don't let em fool you, turtles are secretly fast as hell

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nDeZWUFWys

[–] snooggums@midwest.social 8 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, a lot of reptiles are excellent sprinters and whatever the snake equivalent is called.

[–] samus12345@lemmy.world 2 points 4 months ago

Like dwarves. Very dangerous over short distances!

[–] tronx4002@lemmy.world 8 points 4 months ago (2 children)

I once freed a dragonfly from a spiderweb and felt this way.

[–] MentallyExhausted@reddthat.com 3 points 4 months ago

Same, but for a bee. My bee bro stopped by to say hello every day for like a week.

[–] samus12345@lemmy.world 7 points 4 months ago
[–] southsamurai@sh.itjust.works 1 points 4 months ago

There's some good eatin' on one of them things